Chapter XXXIII - The Ketsueki Unit Arrives
The Ketsueki Unit's members were full of confidence thanks to the undying will of Ketsueki himself. They were now in the outskirts of the Hidden Leaf and quickly progressing to the battlefield.
The Unit comprised of nearly one hundred shinobi that joined Ketsueki in his declaration of peace for the shinobi world. They knew and they understood the misfortunes Ketsueki went through in his life and acknowledged them to shape him into the leader they all greatly respect today. Some members were hand-chosen, others met Ketsueki during his travelling and joined him along the way.
"Everybody," Ketsueki started, turning his head a bit to address his ninja. Ketsueki was at the very front of the horde of shinobi rushing to the village's aid, his second and third-in-command by his side. To his left was his second-in-command, a shinobi formally known by the Stone as Isamu of the Kamizuru clan.
After the Kamizuru were executed by Konoha's Aburame clan with ease, Isamu's status as a high ranking official in the village declined until he was a laughingstock throughout the Land of Earth. Isamu was invited into the Unit some time later, although he rejected at first. Now the two see themselves as equals.
"I know what you're going to say," the long brown haired male said, looking over to Ketsueki. The Kuraiya clan member gently smiled at his comrade before looking ahead, eyeing several civilians from Konoha hoping to escape the chaos within their village. Ketsueki quickly looked to his right once he felt a hand lightly clasp his shoulder, peering into the eyes of his third-in-command, the current Jinchuriki of the Seven Tails, Minae of Takigakure.
Minae comforted Ketsueki with a warm smile, saying, "Don't worry, we'll tend to the villagers, too." The shorter, orange-haired woman worked with Ketsueki during his time in the Hidden Waterfalls, so she had no problem agreeing to his request of her joining the organisation. Minae wanted to make use the once hated Tailed Beast inside of her for the greater good of the world, something Ketsueki often commends.
"Thanks, you two, but I really have to say something to all of us. A leader has to get his message across, right?" asked Ketsueki.
Isamu and Minae nodded.
"Everybody, listen up!" boomed the red-haired male so that everyone could hear him.
"We'll be separating into two groups to help Konoha, assault and support groups. Obviously, the assault group engages the enemy to reduce their numbers, whereas support guides the villagers to safety and heal them," he yelled, starting to perform multiple hand seals.
Going with that already, huh? Looks like Red is itching to fight these Hidden Dark guys, thought Isamu with a slight smirk.
"If you have jutsu intended for direct confrontation with the enemy, you're with Isamu and me! We're entering the village via the southern gates, so get ready! If you have jutsu intended for support, follow Minae through the southeastern gates now!"
With that, over half of the shinobi detoured with Minae, while the other half quickly followed behind Ketsueki and Isamu.
Ketsueki closed his eyes, entering communication with the demon sealed within himself.
"Red, I'm performing the hand signs needed to unseal only five percent of your power. Do me a favour and keep that energy stored for later, alright? It's been a while since we collaborated, but it's time for us to go all out," he said with a confident glare.
The ominous humanoid slowly nodded at him, performing a single hand sign.
Ketsueki opened his now crimson red eyes, peering at the entrance gates to Konoha. He could barely see anything due to the smoke and fire in the vicinity, but he quickly noticed that some injured Oto shinobi were fleeing the village.
"Engage the enemy ahead and then set off for assault! We can't allow Gyatsō Mataba to take control of the village!"
Akazo, lightly panting, would point his sword at the still immobile Gyatsō, whose face was reddened in anger. Akazo knew that it wasn't a good idea to separate himself from the stronger Uchiha brothers, but an unstable Zuko would be too much for him to handle. He didn't know much about Gyatsō, but he was sure that he was vulnerable now.
"I really gotta thank Shikamaru after this. Hey Gyatsō, how does it feel knowing that you're gonna die in a few moments?" he taunted.
"You're just a minuscule insect attempting to tie a black widow into its own web. You, a foolish child drowning in his own naïveté, will soon bear witness to the power I've attained," replied Gyatsō, not letting himself be ridiculed.
Akazo gritted his teeth, directing the blade inches away from Gyatsō's face.
"And you'll be bearing witness to the Will of Fire very soon, bastard. Why are you even doing this? You're only gonna provoke many other wars with the rest of the Five Great Nations, are you really that sure of yourself?" he demanded the older male.
Gyatsō looked into Akazo's eyes, composing himself to make a straight face. Akazo squinted a bit in uncertainty.
"My goal is to take control of all nations, I've no problem with fighting them. In time, they will all learn that resistance is futile against the Hidden Dark," replied the white-haired shinobi.
"And you don't think failure's a possibility when you do drastic things like this?!"
"You're rather late in asking that. A long time ago, I've concluded that anything that isn't in my favour is simply a genjutsu, and with my Shaolin, I'll break through said genjutsu with minimal effort," he replied.
Akazo slowly pressed the blade against Gyatsō's forehead, cutting his flesh. A barely noticeable line of blood escaped the cut and slowly crept its way down Gyatsō's face.
"So if I shoved this sword into your head... that'd be genjutsu to you?" Akazo asked gently, annoyed with Gyatsō already.
"Anything that isn't in my favour is simply a genjutsu."
"Let's see if you can break out of it, then!"
As soon as Akazo applied pressure to the sword in order to cut Gyatsō, he was pushed back with great force, such force that even the ground under them quaked. Akazo heavily crashed onto the ground metres away, giving sight of the chakra Gyatsō used in that Almighty Push.
With his entire body aching, Akazo struggled to get onto his feet. Before we could manage to get a foot up, Gyatsō had already appeared above him with his own sword. Akazo widened his eyes as he suddenly realised the situation he was in.
"How ironic is it," Gyatsō started with a soft chuckle, "That you'll fall to your own weapon? Tell me."
"H-how the hell... did you counter the Shadow Possession Jutsu... and my paralysis technique?!" Akazo demanded, struggling to even talk due to the immense pain he was feeling.
"Are you forgetful, naïve one? All misfortune before me is an illusion," he replied.
That weird dojutsu of his, thought Akazo. The Shaolin... can it dispel both ninjutsu and genjutsu?!
"I commend you for your... attempt. Unfortunately for you, your time has come. All who resist must die. You are no exception. I bid you farewell," said Gyatsō as he held the blade above Akazo's neck.
Sorry, Sasuke, looks like this is it for me. But, at least... I died fighting strongly for the village. Just as father did.
Gyatsō brought the blade down swiftly, but Akazo felt nothing. Instead, he heard the sound of metal clashing as well as a gasp from Gyatsō.
When he moved his head back up, he was looking at a red-haired male wielding a samurai sword. The red-haired male had blocked Gyatsō's attack.
"Gyatsō Mataba!" yelled Ketsueki, angrily looking into his enemy's eyes.
"You again... Ketsueki!"